Review: LG Quantum

LG has joined the party! The LG Quantum is available over at AT&T to complete the wireless provider's initial Windows Phone 7 lineup.

The Samsung Focus's main features would be the thin size and Super-AMOLED screen. The HTC Surround's key feature would be the slide out Yamaha speakers. The LG Quantum's key features, the slide-out keyboard and DLNA compatibility.

Can the physical keyboard and DLNA give the Quantum a leg up on the competition? Or will the smaller form factor dampen the impact of the LG Quantum?

WPCentral First Look: Beezz Twitter app for Windows Phone 7

While the official Twitter and Seesmic apps get all the press, this little program has snuck by a lot of people. It's free, just like the others, but offers some unique features like counters and very smooth scrolling.

The app is quite fast with an intuitive layout, making it one of our favorite Twitter apps out there.

Next week, the developer is planning to release a new version featuring a Live Tile for your start screen, as teased below.

We knew it wasn't much in terms of security, so unlocking Windows Phone 7 to "developer mode" to enable is now a done deal.

What this means for the community is now you can install unapproved applications onto your device, such as apps that modify the UI or access lower level functionality like the phone. The first recent example of such software was this augmented reality app that accessed the camera API.

Of course we still need an alternative Martketplace to distribute said software, much like Apple's Cydia. We imagine that this won't take too long, leading to rapid growth in the home-brew community for Windows Phone 7.

The unlocker, called ChevronWP7, was completed by Rafael, Chris Walsh and Long Zheng, with the latter two becoming household names by now. To enable the unlocked, developer mode, you simple download the file, connect your phone to your computer and run the installation. Seems easy enough and we're told there's no risk.

Couple of tips:

You may have to install the registry file on ChevronWP7.com, we did

Make sure the lock screen is not on when you try or you'll get an error

Software Review (Windows Phone 7): Draw!

Being offered over at the Zune Marketplace for Windows Phone 7, the $.99 app is a finger-friendly doodle pad that has tons of options for tapping into your creative juices. Draw! can be used in portrait or landscape orientations and has multi-touch support (you can draw with two fingers at once).

Controls are lined up at the bottom of the screen and include your brush, fill and stamp tools; color selector; eraser; a magic button for image effects (ripple effect, glow, twist, etc.); picture tool to insert pre-drawn cartoons or a Bing Image; undo/redo controls; and file options.

Software Review (Windows Phone 7): myCraigsAds

Windows Phone 7 gives you the advantage of staying in touch with various aspects of your life. From email to appointments to Facebook status, your Windows Phone adds a mobile touch to your life. If you make use of Craig's List and need to stay in touch on the go, myCraigsAds might be of use.

The $1.99 application is available over at the Marketplace and gives you the ability to search, monitor and create posts to Craig's List. These abilities are spread out nicely over a four page hub...

T-Mobile's Black Friday BOGO event

AT&T isn't the only one offering a BOGO sale on Black Friday. T-Mobile has joined the fun by offering a "buy one, get one free" on select smartphones.

The good news for Windows Phone fans is that the HTC HD7 is included on the list.

The BOGO offer is for new and existing customers (those eligible for upgrade) who sign up for a T-Mobile family plan with a two-year agreement and purchase one of the featured devicesa can get a new featured smartphone free (which includes the HD7). The new in-store BOGO promotion will be available Nov. 26 through Jan.18, to allow those who want to avoid the Black Friday crowds have the opportunity to take advantage of the offer.

First of all, the Microsoft announcement indicated that these games would be available at or shortly after the launch.

Today at Gamescom 2010, the world’s largest gaming conference underway in Cologne, Germany, Microsoft announced the first wave of video games that will be available for Windows Phone 7 at launch or shortly after.

Second, we’ve already seen some exciting titles show up that weren’t on the original list including Tetris and Need For Speed Unleashed from Electronic Arts.

The first 50 titles – a mix of new and familiar games that target both the casual and hardcore gamer – are just a sampling of what will ship this holiday…

The bottom line is that Microsoft isn’t doing anyone a disservice by releasing Xbox Live games a few at a time. Last week we saw Assassin’s Creed and The Oregon Trail; this week we have access to Butterfly and Women’s Murder Club. Hopefully it allows people like me to budget their game purchases instead of dropping a couple hundred dollars in the Marketplace at a single sitting. I also believe that this is a marketing decision, allowing Microsoft to bring attention to a couple of new things each week so they don’t get buried under the pile of games that were already released.

PowerPoint 2010 Broadcast to WP7

Microsoft’s PowerPoint is one of the most used applications in the business world (see our Office Hub review here). One of the newer features in PowerPoint is the ability to broadcast your presentation simultaneously to people in multiple locations. This facilitates conference calls and is of great use to businesses looking to enhance communication and maximize the use of available resources.

SPB on Windows Phone 7: Waiting to see demand from users first

SPB Software is no stranger to Windows Phone users--their Mobile Shell became one of the most used UI replacements for Windows Mobile history. So of course it's no surprise that many of us are wondering what their status is in regards to Windows Phone 7? With Mobile Shell, Wallet, Time and TV they have a nice catalog and who knows what they could create for WP7.

Well, as you can probably read from the Tweet above, it looks like they are on the fence waiting for users to chime in and show demand.

How can you show demand? Glad you asked. Well we know one way is to take their SPB Survey 2010, which they do every year and is one of the largest polls of smartphone preferences out there (plus you can win stuff). If that doesn't suit your fancy, we suppose hitting them with email and tweets are alternatives. Either way, feel free to let them know!

Windows Phone 7 on the HD2? Mostly "demo" of the OS due to MS security

A few days ago we broke the news about the Genuine Software checker for Windows Phone 7. To recap, the system would check the OS against the hardware using PVK (private keys)--if no match occurred, then the OS would be crippled (no cloud services).

Now DFT, the team behind the attempted Windows Phone 7-to-HD2 port, have come forward and said that indeed, this is the case. The result, as predicted, is that the OS is "mostly a demo" without the Live services but that "...it will be released soon, but don't expect anything from it - without Live services it's not really usable".

Looks like Microsoft has won this battle, for now. But it is still early in the game and perhaps someone will figure a way around the security.

Bottom line: if you were expecting a usable port to happen anytime soon for your HD2, you can stop hoping now.

Rovio getting ready to announce Angry Birds for Windows Phone 7?

While we don't know what exactly they're going to say, Rovio evidently has some news for us regarding that Angry Birds on Windows Phone 7 thing. In a recent Tweet, the company wants to share their plans (possibly in Redmond no less) on bringing the popular game to our new OS.

We doubt they're going to announce they're not supporting it, so all in all, this should be good news. Especially for those people who mockingly say WP7 isn't complete till we get this game. Pa-lease. Now lets get some green-pig destruction going already.

Terrestar Genus Unlocked, Selling for $1,150

At this point TerreStar’s Genus satellite phone seems to be going the way of the dodo. We handled it at CTIA, saw it gain FCC approval, and it even made it to AT&T. There is also that little matter of TerreStar filing for bankruptcy. Now, the Windows Mobile 6.5.3 hand-held is available unlocked through TerreStar for roughly the cost of an arm and a leg. While the $1,150 price tag seems a little extreme, remember that this is a satellite capable smart-phone; and if you have a good reason to have it, the price probably isn’t going to stop you from buying one.

Windows Phone 7 Companion Available Now

With the release of Windows Phone 7, there are a number of books on the topic making their way to store shelves. We’ll be doing a roundup/review in the next few weeks, but we wanted to call special attention to Windows Phone 7 Companion from Wiley. Author Matthew Miller is a friend of the SmartPhone Experts family of sites; in addition to being regularly featured on mobile technology heavyweights such as ZDNet’s Mobile Gadgeteer and the Mobile Tech Roundup podcast, Matt heads up the Nokia Experts blog.

AT&T offering BOGO for Windows Phone 7 starting November 26th

In case you've been missing out on all of those deals of late, just in time for "Black Friday" comes a great offer from AT&T: buy any Windows Phone 7 device and get a second one for free.

Of course the usual fine print applies: $15 minimum data plan, $36 activation (which you can usually get waived), 2 year agreement, etc. But hey, for the family or couple who need new phones, seems like a great deal to us. Anyone else get the impression that Microsoft is doing the "Xbox strategy" by eating the cost of sales in an attempt to gain market share?

Microsoft is now going above and beyond to promote the applications that developers have already brought to the Marketplace in anticipation of the Holiday season. We’ve already discussed Bing Visual Search for Windows Phone 7 Apps, which makes it quick and easy to find software for your phone from any computer. An additional push is being made with advertising in the Xbox dashboard on Xbox 360 console, utilizing an established customer base to expand the popularity of the platform. Microsoft is also featuring specific apps within the Marketplace and on Windowsphone.com.

One thing is for sure, Microsoft is pulling out all the stops to establish Windows Phone 7 as one of the premier smart-phone platforms on the market.